BOZEMAN, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings men's and women's cross country teams opened the 2026 season with strong performances across the board at the Bobcat Twilight, with both teams taking sixth place at the meet overall.
 
The Yellowjacket women would finish with 136 points, while the MSUB men would collect 145 points, stacking up against teams from all across the state and all collegiate levels. Both squads would compete in a 5K race, seeing numerous new faces make their debuts with the teams, with six men and five women running their first races for the 'Jackets.
 
For the MSUB men, the top four finishes in the race would all come from debutants, with Logan Milek leading the way with a 22^nd place finish, finishing with a time of 15:51.6, the fastest time from an athlete outside of the DI schools. Behind Milek, a quarter of Yellowjackets would pack together at the finish, with Jimmy Reed, Donald Voetberg, Mason Gregoire, and John Achter taking 46^th, 47^th, 48^th and 49^th place. Reed would finish with a time of 16:59.5, while Voetberg, Gregoire, and Achter would each finish with a time of 16:59.9, barely separated from one another and rounding out the team's top five finishers. Achter's time would mark a 5K PR for the sophomore.
 
Bruce Reed would take 63^rd, running a 5K PR of 17:40.4, while Ben Carleski would place 68^th with a time of 17:58.6. Will Hyatt would place 74^th and Alex Benner would take 80^th respectively, rounding out the finishing order for the 'Jackets with times of 18:17.7 and 19:09.9 respectively.
 
For the 'Jacket women, Ally Coey would pace the squad with a 24^th place finish, with a PR time of 20:16.8. She would be followed by freshman Della Sebring, who debuted with a time of 20:36.4, placing 34^th place. Chloe Shennum would kick off the year by also setting a 5K PR, with her 21:25.0 time ranking 45^th at the meet. MSUB's point finishers would be rounded out by Gracyn Rock and transfer Adison Carlson, with Rock placing 47^th with a PR mark of 21:30.3, and Carlson placing 52^nd with a PR time of 22:13.0.
 
MSUB's remaining finishers would see Kinley Bruno take 58^th with a time of 22:49.3, while Sara McCabe place 63^rd with a time of 23:43.2. Angela Russo, Claire Dayton, and Madi Gordon would then pack to finish with times of 24:33.1, 25:13.0, and 26:45.7, finishing 66^th, 67^th, and 69^th respectively.
 
THE BUZZ: Milek and Coey were named the Athletes of the Meet.
 
UP NEXT: The Yellowjacket cross country squads will head east to compete in their next meet, where they will stack up against the field at the Marauders Home Opener, hosted by University of Mary. The races will be run at McDowell Dam, with the men beginning with an 8K at 3 PM MT (4 PM CT), before the women run a 6K set to start at 3:45 PM MT (4:45 PM CT). Meet information and results can be found on the men's and women's cross country schedule pages.